


A Collection of Accidents

by mikas_pub



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Mild Blood, No Romance, Rewrite, Soulmates, To Be Continued, roppi was a medical condition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:15:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29184624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikas_pub/pseuds/mikas_pub
Summary: [ a re-write of my first work "life like in a fever dream" ]In the world where someone unknown decides who will you spend the rest of your life with, would everyone be satisfied with their soulmate? What if you just feel like that isn't the right person?
Kudos: 2





	1. Insignificant Accident

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kano who helped me through so so much](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kano+who+helped+me+through+so+so+much).



> hello everyone! this is the first story i managed to finish. the idea of writing a tsukiroppi soulmate au has been corrupting my mind for an ungodly amount of time, and now i'm finally sharing it with you all. i hope you enjoy!

_Do you believe in fate?_

Do you believe in something that predicts your entire life, toying with your choices, turning the events important for you as it pleases?

Can you imagine something deciding every single person you’ll meet in your life, all of the relationships and feelings being written in advance by it?

How would you feel if this whole world relied on fate? How would it feel to find out you are already assigned to spend the rest of your days with someone? People call it a romantic mystery, people may tell whatever come to their minds, but acknowledging nobody even asked you before putting a black mark on your body where your soulmate will touch you for the first time, living with this is quite burdening.

***

A young man walks among the crowd, clinging on his white shoulder bag. He was one of these people who stand out by their unremarkable appearance. It’s true, his slightly above average height made him look tall like a skyscraper next to all of the bypasses; his naturally golden-yellow hair shined too brightly among everyone else’s; the bartender clothes on him looked just so out of place that you wouldn’t notice his glasses being at least twice bigger than needed, but the most absurd detail of his character was a long white scarf, wrapped around his neck several times. Despite the hot weather, the man was dressed up so warmly and didn’t even seem to be bothered by it. Let me uncover a little secret he would never tell you personally: under this scarf he was hiding a mark. The very mark used to determine his soulmate whenever this time would come. This stain caused him so much trouble at the age of sixteen when it first appeared on the boy’s neck, showing a left palm of another person placed just in the middle of his throat. And so, he was forced to wear this scarf at any time of the day he was outside of the house until the moment anyone would be kind enough to try to choke him.

We’ve followed this strange guy for a while already, but where exactly is he going? Actually, at the moment he is rushing to attend morning classes. You see, he overslept today (which was happening from time to time) and now he needs to get to the university as fast as he could, tearing through the crowd especially large as it always is in the busy mornings.

***

\-- I’m sorry for being late, may I come in? – the young man muttered, standing on the doorway of the classroom. His glance was headed towards the last desk in the auditorium, the one that stood the furthest from the entrance, in hope he wouldn’t need to apologise one more time to someone else today.

\-- Tsukishima... Take your seat, please. – was the professor’s reply, allowing our hero to sneak up to his assigned place in the classroom. He sighed in relief as he noticed that his deskmate wasn’t there. He hoped he won’t show up today at all, and with eased heart started to pay attention to the class, when the entrance door violently flew open, interrupting the peace of studies in the auditorium. The person who had just entered the class looked like a student, but definitely didn’t act like a one – his coat decorated with crimson red fur sliding down his shoulders showed a complete carefree attitude, and so did his walk pattern, lazy and careless (you can see teenagers walking the exact same way all around the downtown at evenings), implying absolute disrespect to the professor, the students and this occasion as a whole.

In a situation like this, (almost) every teacher would scold their student for such an attitude. But this person was a completely different case, and it was exactly what made Tsukishima want to hide from him so badly: tolerance. For some unknown reasons all of the university staff treated this guy in a strange way. He was never asked anything during the class, he didn’t get any homework and even his presence wasn’t required. And still, he was a student of normal course; he managed to get average grades on all subjects – the only class he didn’t attend ever once was physical education, - in general, he was normal, but wasn’t at the same time.

\-- Hachimenroppi, - the only sound of this name gave Tsukishima unreasonable shivers. If you asked him, what was he so afraid of when he saw this guy in a hallway, or had to sit next to him, why did he see a threat in a person who was a head lower than Tsuki himself, the answer you would get is: “I don’t know”. There was no good reasoning for Tsuki to be shaking in fear at the only sight of his classmate, but he did fear him with an entire soul anyways. Perhaps he was afraid that the teachers would let it slide for this special student if he decided to beat someone up. Or maybe this was never the reason and Tsuki could almost physically sense a bad aura from this person. It wasn’t half as hard, considering they sat next to each other several hours every weekday. – Please take your seat.

Not noticing how much time has passed since he started overthinking, Tsukishima noticed his classmate already appeared at the assigned place at the desk they were sharing, on the left. As usual, both hands tucked deep down in the pockets of a coat, staring somewhere in distance paying completely no attention to the class. At this state of thinking, Hachimenroppi was an easy observing target – he didn’t, or at least pretended not to, notice Tsukishima staring at him for a long time.

By now you would get an idea of what the relationship between Tsukishima and Hachimenroppi was like. It would be hard to even call this a relationship in which Tsukishima simply feared his safety and his life whenever he was around Hachimenroppi while the said man couldn’t care less about anything going on around him at all. He wasn’t signed up in any clubs and was never seen participating in any afterschool activities, he was barely attending mandatory classes and he never interacted with anybody unless he’s been forced to. And this lack of information was the very reason Tsukishima felt uncomfortable around his deskmate. Not knowing a single thing about a person who was so physically close to him, to put it simply, freaked him out. And that is why Tsukishima was longing to study Hachimenroppi as much as it was possible. He would spend questionable amounts of time staring at Hachimenroppi, trying to notice and figure out anything he was able to – from body language and gestures he was making to his mood shifts through days, months and weeks which were distinctly portrayed on his face for most of the time, but varied just between anger, boredom and fatigue.

At the moment, for example, it was very easy to tell why he was late to the class – his tired glance with eye bags underneath them immediately gave away that he barely got any sleep tonight. Hachimenroppi leaned on the back his chair and closed his eyes, as if trying to restore energy. Meanwhile, Tsukishima took a break of overanalyzing Hachimenroppi and that was the moment both of them weren’t thinking of anything so the professor’s words reached their minds:

\-- ... As for the final project for this semester, you are going to do it in pairs, - they said, ignoring the student’s unsatisfied gasps and sighs all over the auditorium, - which I am going to assign personally.

Tsukishima finally got his attention back to the class entirely. It’s not like he cared who is his pair going to be – he had barely talked to anyone in this class about anything beyond study questions, - it was only fear that he didn’t get paired with Hachimenroppi. Any other person could do, Tsukishima would gladly accept a grade-schooler as his partner right now, anyone but Hachimenroppi. As the assigning proceeded, Tsukishima was getting more and more worried because he was starting to see the pattern of those: professor was quite literally pairing people according to how they sat in the auditorium, simply put: being deskmates here equalled being paired up for the project; while every other student gave at least a little bit of reaction about the upcoming work, Hachimenroppi wasn’t, or at least skilfully hid the fact that he wasn’t, bothered by any of the activities going on. He would probably be excused from doing it, anyways. According to what I’ve said before, Tsukishima and Hachimenroppi were sitting in the very back of the auditorium, so the professor got there at the very end, finding an anxious out of his mind Tsukishima and half-asleep Hachimenroppi.

\-- Hachimenroppi and Tsukishima will be working together on this project. 

These words brought almost physical pain to Tsukishima as the worst-case scenario had just played out. He looked up to the professor, hoping they would change that decision since, honestly, Hachimenroppi wasn’t the type to work in pairs at all, or at least it was a made-up statement in Tsukishima’s brain. Nonetheless, several moments passed and he still was assigned to work with his unfriendly deskmate, while all the said person did as the reaction was quickly glance to the side to take a look at Tsukishima and his almost crying face expression, and then do the eye roll to imply how little did he care about this entire thing. The professor seemed to notice that, and added:

\-- This is mandatory, Orihara. If you would like to graduate from my class, you will have to do this.

***

By the end of the lecture the atmosphere in the auditorium has changed drastically. Some people were actually fine with their partners, already discussing and planning out the upcoming work, while the others... well, let’s say not everyone got paired with someone they wanted. And on the top, the cherry on that cake we have Tsukishima who needed another two to three seconds to start crying and Hachimenroppi who singlehandedly radiated so much negativity that it almost materialized in the air. Needless to say, he was visibly mad about the fact he will have to do anything concerning the university. It already took him a lot of time and effort to get in, and now he is obligated to do something else? He really wasn’t very happy about it, neither was Tsukishima. Unlike his furious, but still careless partner he had already began to think on how to approach Hachimenroppi and contact him. First of all, he needed a couple of backup plans in case something went wrong, and Tsukishima was able to imagine enough aspects that could’ve gone wrong. He never knew what would Hachimenroppi react like and it made Tsukishima lose confidence quickly (not like there was a lot of it to start from). Even if he was to gather some courage and approach Hachimenroppi, where was the guaranty he would even get any response? Thought after thought, idea after idea, Tsukishima didn’t even notice the class was dismissed and almost everyone has left the auditorium. The only people remaining inside were several students discussing something with the professor right before the exit... and Hachimenroppi. And just as Tsukishima was wondering if he stayed a while to talk, he stood up and started walking downstairs.

\-- Hold on... wait for me! – Tsukishima said, but it only made Hachimenroppi walk faster almost shoving people at the doorway aside to make his escape. However, Tsukishima has already made up his mind and decided to talk to him today, so he exited the auditorium as well, following Hachimenroppi as close as he could, losing him time by time because of several groups of students hanging out in the hallways. Eventually, the area became less crowded as the two reached the rear exit, which both of them used instead of the main one for obvious reasons of wanting to interact with as less people as possible, and while Hachimenroppi was still determined to leave unnoticed, Tsukishima finally reached him and stopped him by grabbing the bottom of his coat, which was said before to be hanging down to the floor for it never was put on properly.

\-- I just want to talk to you about the proje-... – Tsukishima started, but then something unimaginable happened.

Hachimenroppi reacted harshly to Tsukishima touching his clothes, so he did some basic self-defence. Could you even call that a manoeuvre which resulted in Tsukishima being held by his neck with Hachimenroppi’s left hand in... thick winter gloves? - why in the world would he wear them to lectures? - and pinned against the nearest wall? It all happened so quickly that no bystander could keep up with that action. Either way, the situation was the way it was and Tsukishima, knowing he was eventually going to run out of air (considering how strangely firm and tight Hachimenroppi’s grip was), tried to think of anything he could do to help himself. Unfortunately, he couldn’t think of anything.

\-- You’re f-fucking cre-eepy! - Hachimenroppi growled, these being the first words he addressed to... who is this person standing in front of him again? – What t-the fuck... is g-going on her...e? – he asks himself as he lets go of Tsukishima to get rid of the aching itchiness in his left arm, taking his glove down to check his hand; meanwhile Tsukishima rips his scarf away to make way for his airflow,

_and here is where they realise._

The marks on their bodies match. The place where Hachimenroppi was holding Tsukishima just now is engraved on his hand. The hand that just held Tsukishima is imprinted onto his neck in detail.

_they have found out who is their soulmate, but the timing just couldn’t be worse._

***

\-- Look, Hachimenroppi, I know you are stressed, I am too, but will you plea-...

\-- D-d-do me a fav-vour and shhhut the fuck up!

By the end of the very same day we’ve started following their story, the two of them were sitting on suitcases in front of the door to their new apartment. How did they end up moving in together even though they’ve just met in the morning, you may ask? I think I’ve forgotten to explain that bit.

In a world where you’re being assigned a soulmate, looking for them might as well as become one of your most important tasks in your life. The society quite literally forces you into meeting your soulmate, no matter what your personal opinion is. They go as far as offering various privileges to people who’ve met their significant other in order to improve their relationships, encourage them getting to know each other even better etc.

And this might be the reason Hachimenroppi and Tsukishima got practically dragged out of their student dorm rooms, and were given an apartment. Simple as that, just because they’ve only just met each other. (Imagine a struggle, having to move in with the sexiest guy in your faculty and on top of that, in a brand new apartment, wish these were problems of my life.)

How will this play out? Will Hachimenroppi last for longer than three seconds before committing various ranges of crimes on spot? Let’s find out in Part II. - “Everyday Accidents”.


	2. Everyday Accidents

\-- ...Why do I _h-have_ to do this?!

It was one of the evenings when Tsukishima and Hachimenroppi would encounter each other in the kitchen. It’s been a month or even more since they’ve moved in together, but the number of interactions they’ve had could be counted on fingers. Tsukishima wasn’t sure whether Hachimenroppi tried to avoid him or maybe it was just his insane sleeping schedule that was getting in the way. When I describe Hachimenroppi’s sleeping schedule as insane, I mean it sincerely: he never slept in patterns, staying up for over 24 hours only to sleep them away the next day, he would leave in the evening and come back in the morning. Overall, it became a sort of daily quest for Tsukishima to figure out whether Hachimenroppi is home or not without going in his room. Even though the two of them lived together, their knowledge of each other didn’t go any further than names, age and the fact that they are stuck together for a long while.

\-- Do what, exactly? – Tsukishima turned to face his roommate with a cup of tea in his hands. He’s noticed that even thought Hachimenroppi was talking with a stutter almost as if he was nervous, he never was. Similarly to observations during lectures in university, Hachimenroppi hardly showed any emotion besides anger or annoyance since they’ve moved. Knowing that, Tsukishima was still afraid of talking to him and feared getting him pissed off, which is why he may have been avoiding encountering him. Or not.

\-- Do... all of this! Why am I stuck here with you? Why do I need t-to obey this stu...pid fucking rule? – Hachimenroppi’s gaze was locked onto an empty mug he was holding after finishing his supposedly tenth coffee this day.

\-- W-well... No one has ever explained it to me as well, but I’ve heard it’s all about forcefully connecting people after research is done on all of us until we turn sixteen. It sounds really awful and I hope it’s not true.

\-- Stupid! Why c-c-create a system l-like this in... th-he first place?

\-- Apparently, they’ve noticed the society hasn’t been focusing on the “matters” anymore. I really have no idea, but I’m assuming they’re just trying to ease it up for people to find their significant others. Even though it’s a very strange and even violent way to do it.

\-- Significant others? They’re tr-ryna to make us... breed or s-some shit? – Hachimenroppi said after a long pause, still staring into his mug as if waiting the answer would be written out for him there. – Then... why you out of all the dumbasses in the world? Aren’t you a dude?

Tsukishima bit his lip and frowned, leaving the question unanswered: something he would never do normally. Was it something Hachimenroppi said? Well, neither of them wanted to continue the conversation since they’ve done quite enough talking for today, so they just retreated to their rooms.

And here we have it, a routine in life of recently matched soulmates. This little evening talk planted a new thought in Tsukishima’s head, and he began questioning the situation he’s found himself in. “Is this it?” – he asked so often during sleepless nights, - “Have I accomplished the peak of human existence? Is this all I needed to do to complete my life? I’m only 21 though… I don’t feel like I’ve done everything I need to just yet.” Eventually his curiosity and repeated thoughts about the soulmate system left him wanting more information and Tsukishima tried to do some research. As unfair as it sounds, any data on this topic was hardy accessible for civilians, but Tsukishima managed to dig out something he hasn’t heard of before. He found out that besides the physical connection between the soulmates there was also a mental one present, and the source didn’t specify any details, only warning to not get away from your soulmate without any notice. It was most likely some fake news, but for some reason Tsukishima remembered it anyways.

Sometimes Tsukishima would wonder would it be easier to get along with Hachimenroppi if he was a female. But to be honest, it didn’t seem like Tsukishima’s gender was the reason: Hachimenroppi seemed to be disturbed by something more global, but he has never ever expressed any will to open up to Tsukishima (and he most likely wouldn’t, considering the two were nothing but strangers put in the same box).

***

_Get up in the morning. Do your daily tasks. There aren’t a lot. Do some extra tasks. You need to be occupied all the time. No tasks left? Think of more. In the end of the day you may rest a little bit by studying or reading a book. Good. You didn’t waste today. Repeat it tomorrow._

Before he could notice that, Tsukishima’s life has turned into a repeated algorithm, day after day the same things and a little reward would be breaking out of the sequence of actions by talking to Hachimenroppi. Tsukishima didn’t even realize he hasn’t been to the university classes for that long, and as he’s got midterms coming up paying a visit to a few lectures would be useful.

It was the time for a new algorithm. Tsukishima got ready over an hour earlier than he usually would, planning to spend the time talking to professor before the class starts. As he was putting his shoes on, almost exiting the apartment, he heard a sound of the keys locking out the entrance door. Hachimenroppi came home and was actually quite surprised to see Tsukishima right away. He got on the annoyed face seconds later, trying to not give away any bit of his thoughts.

\-- Wh… What are y-you up to? – Hachimenroppi asked while still standing in the doorway for some reason.

\-- I’m going to attend a lecture. Do you want to come with me? – was Tsukishima’s reply as he stood up and attempted to walk past Hachimenroppi with him still blocking the exit.

\-- I d-.. don’t think you’re going an-nywhere, actually. – Hachimenroppi closed the door behind himself, stepping inside of the apartment. Tsukishima got out of the way, his face with genuine not understanding expression.

\-- …Uh… What do you mean? Why can’t I go to uni?

\-- Well… - Hachimenroppi locked the door by turning the keys two times, and Tsukishima noticed he had two keys on him, which meant he was given a pair – one key for him and one key for Tsukishima, - It.. It’s dangerous.

\-- What? How is it dangerous?

\-- Dunno. – was the final reply from Hachimenroppi as he retreated to his room, leaving Tsukishima alone in the hallway, confused and a bit disappointed. He knew he had to step up for himself and at least get his keys back, but he didn’t do it. He just decided to try again later.

But as if all at once the two of them became synchronized, every time Tsukishima would want to get outside, Hachimenroppi would come home the exact same second and prevent him from doing so. Tsukishima would work on building his courage to tell Hachimenroppi what he has been thinking, but he would never actually speak against him. On the other hand, Tsukishima tried to see Hachimenroppi’s actions as an act of protecting, even though what exactly the danger in question was still a secret. 

What’s up with the outside world and why Hachimenroppi doesn’t talk about it at all? Will Tsukishima be able to get out and see for himself? Find out in Part III. – Accident of Loss.


	3. Accident of Loss

Day, night, day, night, night, day, night. It just wouldn’t end. A looped circle of life with no exit from it, pretty much enough to drive anyone insane.

Tsukishima haven’t been outside for several months. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t since Hachimenroppi didn’t go through the trouble of explaining him, and he still haven’t got his keys back – they were always is the pocket of Hachimenroppi’s coat which was inaccessible as much as anything else of his possessions. Something had to be done about the current situation and to Tsukishima’s great disadvantage no one else but himself could’ve saved him from it.

***

\-- Hachimenroppi, let me go outside!

\-- Wh-…? What’s up with th-e yelling? – needless to say, having Tsukishima raise his voice wasn’t something regular so Hachimenroppi was surprised. In fact, he’s never heard his roommate openly demand anything. Ever.

\--I don’t know what’s been going on, but you won’t be keeping me inside any longer! I’m going to uni today. – Tsukishima stood there with face full of determination. For any other person getting a fight with their peer would cost nothing, but Tsukishima had to spend days and days just to prepare to be harsh with Hachimenroppi.

\-- And I th-hink the fuck not! – Hachimenroppi got annoyed very quickly (it could have been predicted), slamming the door shut behind himself, the loud sound of which made Tsukishima flinch in discomfort. – I’m t-telling you: it is not s…afe to go out! …Es-specially for pussies like you.

\-- Care to explain what exactly is so dangerous to be enough of a reason for you to keep me locked in here for months? – Tsukishima tried to ignore that rude comment and got into offensive.

Hachimenroppi was silent for several moments, staring at the wall opposite from the entrance as if debating whether he should let Tsukishima know or not. After a couple of minutes he pulled his phone out of the coat pocket and started tapping on a screen. When the contents he searched for showed up on the screen, he handed Tsukishima the device but didn’t let go of it just yet.

\--H-hold on. Are you… sensitive or someth-hing like that? Because this shit is not very pleasant. ­

\--As long as I can see the reasons for your behavior, I don’t mind that at all. – the blonde answered with determination, taking the phone and reading into what it said there.

The screen showed a browser window with a news website open in it. A title written in massive font dragged attention instantly.

**More Missing People in Shinjuku Area**

Several days ago an abnormally large amount of citizens has been reported to be missing. Apparently, 17 individuals last seen in Shinjuku disappeared without any heavy leads on the evening of June 12th. Yesterday we’ve received more details from the police departments currently working on a case – it’s most likely that the people have been kidnapped or assassinated in less crowded streets of the district. Today there has been even more missing citizens reported – the number now goes up to 29. What’s the most mysterious about these disappearances is that the victims have absolutely no connections between each other and were all truly just bypassers on the day they were kidnapped. The police also doubt the possibility of a serial killer or gang activity in town which could target random individuals for unknown needs.

A message to everyone living or working in Shinjuku or nearby – avoid going out in the evenings alone, always be mindful of your surroundings and immediately report any suspicious activity to local authorities. Any help from the public is greatly appreciated. Stay tuned for the updates on the topic.

\-- D-do you finally see it now? – Hachimenroppi tsked, taking away his phone the moment he noticed Tsukishima was done reading the article.

\--See what, exactly? All I see here is an untrustworthy source, this is yellow press! Also, the information is outdated; we’re already halfway done with July. – was Tsukishima’s rather annoyed response (he wasn’t even hiding his disappointment anymore).

\--No, y-you don’t get it. This is all true. It really is d-dangerous. – all of sudden Hachimenroppi lost his spirit to fight and turned around to retreat to his room. He was, however, stopped by Tsukishima grabbing his hand.

\-- Will you please give me back my copy of keys?

\--I… will n-not. Leave me t-t-the fuck alone.

***

\-- H-how the fuck did we e-end up here?!

Hachimenroppi snapped out of his mind palace as he was walking down the street holding Tsukishima by the sleeve of his shirt. Realizing that, he drew his arm away quickly as if he suddenly got burnt and stared right into Tsukishima’s eyes with an unpleasantly hostile gaze, waiting for an explanation.

\-- What? Did you… forget we agreed to go to uni together? Like… maybe ten minutes ago? – Tsukishima looked back at him in genuine surprise as they continued walking.

They’ve wasted the entire on arguing so it already was early evening and the sun was getting ready to set. There wasn’t a lot of people out, which was surprising considering it was an ordinary weekday. Usually people would go back from work or school in this hour, and there would also be someone taking an evening stroll through the city. Hachimenroppi sighed in annoyance, having to deal with a fact he wouldn’t attend to his plans today, wasting his time at some lecture again. As the reader may have noticed already, studies weren’t anywhere on the list of his priorities so he just could not be bothered about those.

Before the two of them reached the university building, Tsukishima asked to take a look at the bookstore located nearby. Hachimenroppi immediately denied, claiming being around a lot of books made him sick.

\-- I never know when I will be able to visit a bookstore again. – Tsukishima insisted, - It won’t take long, I’ll be right back.

\--An-d… W-what if you won’t be? What if you try to… run away?

\-- I will not. You have my word. – saying this, Tsukishima turned around and blended in with the crowd. Hachimenroppi wasn’t following him and didn’t see whether had he entered the bookstore or not.

Several minutes passed. The wait was getting a bit too long.

“He wouldn’t get lost in here when there are ten steps between the store and me?”

After another while Hachimenroppi got closer to the building to look for Tsukishima through the window.

_He was nowhere to be seen._

\-- …Bitch.


	4. The Accident to Look Forward To

Tsukishima ran away.

Nobody could’ve predicted that, could they? Say, reader, would you think about Tsukishima doing something like this? Probably, but still, it is a pretty surprising turn of events.

Ever since he ran away, Tsukishima’s been staying at various places all around the town (since he’s never gotten his key from the apartment; also most probably because he was afraid of encountering Hachimenroppi in that area) and he had plenty of time to reflect on his actions. He noticed he’s actually been feeling better since he stopped spending weeks locked inside the four walls. But from the other point of view, he couldn’t help it but worry about Hachimenroppi. What if he went searching? Tsukishima had an odd feeling Roppi wouldn’t need long to discover the location of his soulmate. Even though Tsukishima’s escape seemed like the only thing that could be performed in his situation, he couldn’t get rid of the guilt of abandoning Hachimenroppi. He had truly no reason to be worried about him, but at the end of the day he would find himself getting ready to sleep and recalling the thought that never exited his mind: “I wonder how Hachimenroppi is doing right now?”

Since Tsukishima made sure to stay as far away as possible from Shinjuku area, he had less of a chance to run into Hachimenroppi or any of the university people and so, he started going for some walks more often. ... What was that? Am I forgetting something? Oh, right, I completely forgot that Tsukishima is the least street-smart person in the entire Tokyo. There is no way he would’ve gone for a walk and not get lost in the span of twelve minutes. However, he could not be discouraged by that and kept trying until he’d memorise the layout of several streets. That’s already some kind of achievement, right?

One evening, the end of a completely ordinary day, Tsukishima went for a stroll before going home. He tried to not go far away from his current place of residence, but still managed to get lost somehow. He must have some kind of a skill to do that, really.

So, there you have it! Tsukishima forgot his way home again and it’s getting dark outside – quite a common thing to happen in the evening, - and Tsukishima finds himself walking down a completely empty street. It was barely lit up, only having two streetlights which were malfunctioning and blinking every now and then, creating a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Tsukishima wanted to get past this place as soon as he could, increasing his walking speed, when suddenly,

He thought he saw a shadow swinging by.

Tsukishima rubbed his eyes to make sure that wasn’t something he’s imagined, but the shadow was already gone by then. It supposedly disappeared into a tiny passageway between the two buildings standing by each other. There was absolutely no reason for Tsukishima to go down there. He had no business in this passageway. And still, he decided just to peek in and see was there really someone else in there.

He approached the passageway with caution, trying to make no noise as he walked. He could hear nothing from the passageway. He was now only several steps away from the passageway entrance. For some reason, he got frightened, but was still going to see what was in there, he had a strong feeling there was something worth it all, now he’s right by the entrance and he turns around to face the passageway, and...

_A silent scream escapes his mouth as he sees a dead body lying right in the middle of the passageway._

“There is a dead body right in the middle of the passageway. There is a dead person right in front of me. There is so many blood... Is all of the blood theirs? What do I do now? Is there someone else around? What was that noise? I’m sure I just heard a splash right there...” – Tsukishima thinks with an incredible and uncharacteristic speed for him, staring down at the corpse he’s just discovered and then. And then? Then?

\-- What... Wh..what? What are... You? WHAT ARE **YOU** DOING HERE?!

Tsukishima got so incredibly frightened to hear another person speak, he didn’t even realised he was pushed down onto the ground, directly into a puddle of blood. He wanted to get up, but realized he was held firmly,

By his neck.

\-- Why are you here… Why? What are you doing here? What are you doing here? – the person above Tsukishima kept repeating the two same sentences, making it just more complicated for him to process his surroundings. He tried to look up to the stranger choking him, but his vision was blurry since he started crying a while ago.

\-- Are you s-stupid?.. How can you be… this fh--… dumb? Why-y would you c-come here? – Tsukishima could feel his pursuer’s hands shaking. Were they nervous about something? Either way, it was getting really cold lying on the pavement like that. Tsukishima had a way home to find.

\--Could you please.. let me go? – he mumbled, grasping for air. There was no response from the other person, instantly making Tsukishima more anxious. The picture of the situation finally clicked in his head: a dead body, a pool of blood and a dark alleyway on Saturday evening. How did he not notice earlier?

\-- Are you going to… k-kill me? … I don’t… want to d-die…

\-- Then why.. the **fuck** would you come hhhere then?! What b-business did you have here?

It hit Tsukishima just now. He was, in fact, really familiar with the person he was speaking to. He recognized their voice now. And their grip. It was familiar to him as well. Why would it be, you wonder? I have an easy answer to that.

_Tsukishima has encountered Hachimenroppi tonight._

\-- What…? It’s… you? – even though he could barely see a thing, Tsukishima tried his best to focus on Hachimenroppi’s face, still believing in the possibility he might be mistaken and he isn’t actually talking to his soulmate right now. – How… No, why are you here?

\-- That’s what I’ve been asking you!! – Hachimenroppi yelled, clearly stressed to the maximum. He let go of Tsukishima eventually, distancing from him and looking down at the bloodstained pavement, averting his gaze just not to look him in the eyes.

\-- I… erm… I got lost. That’s all. Really. – getting up again Tsukishima couldn’t help but notice his clothes were soaked in blood in a generous amount. He didn’t like the fact of that at all. – Well, uh, it was nice meeting you and everything… I have to go home now, - he said, turning around to exit the alleyway, but Hachimenroppi was quick with pulling him back inside by an end of his scarf.

\--Idiot! D-d-do you think I’ll just… let you go? You w…will fucking repor-rt me, instantly, will you not?

\-- Report you for what?

\-- Dd-d-on’t play dumb with me; you’re getting on my nerves! I’ll just have you ssstay inside all the time, again, and this won’t get-t out and we’ll just keep going w-with the life.

\-- I don’t understand, why would I stay with you now? Have you tried asking me about all that? Maybe the reason I ran away was because I didn’t want to live like you told me to?

\--You are stupid! That’s all I have to say! Have you not figured it out yet? By staying away from me you’re just doing harm to yourself. You told me that, didn’t you? Some weird-ass source of info mentioned not to get away from your soulmate without a notice. It’s because whenever you’re worried about me or something like that it stings your chest like crazy! Maybe a better way to describe it would be having a needle put through your heart, and your dumbass never stopped worrying about me, apparently! I tried to do the same thing back to you, you had to feel it, it’s impossible to ignore that shit.

\--I haven’t felt anything, there is a high possibility you’re making this up. About everything… I guess I had to talk to you about everything in advance, but since, you know, you were never available, I just solved the problem in a different way.

Their conversation is being interrupted. Hachimenroppi has lost consciousness.


	5. The Concluding Accident

Hachimenroppi would wake up in a small tidy bedroom. It was dark outside, judging from a weak light source coming from the window located on Roppi’s left. He tried to sit up from the bed to look around, but then a headache struck him so he was forced to stay still. He wanted to at least find out what was going on around him, but decided to wait for a little while, closing his eyes to rest for another bit.  
Tsukishima walked in later, towel over his head and changed into a bathrobe – clearly just out of the shower. He made his way all over to the window, closing the curtains to block out all of the streetlights. He then turned around to face Hachimenroppi, placing a hand on his forehead to feel his temperature.

\-- Don’t touch me. – Hachimenroppi blurted out, slapping Tsukishima’s hand off his own forehead. – Where the fuck is this place?

\-- Ow…! You’re awake… - Tsukishima pulls his hand back, greeting Hachimenroppi with an expression of surprise, - We’re… somewhere I’m staying at the moment. I couldn’t bring you all the way home so… you’ll have to spend the night here. There’s only one bed, though… If you mind me, I’ll sleep on the sofa.

\-- I don’t care. – the raven couldn’t help but get incredibly annoyed on the amount of care Tsukishima’s been expressing towards him. He even took the responsibility of wiping off the blood from Roppi’s face and giving him some plain clean clothes. What is this all about? Wasn’t he the one shaking in fear several hours ago? 

… That’s right. Hachimenroppi knew he was forgetting something. – Did you… g-get rid of th-he body for me, as well?

\-- What?... No, I didn’t. How do you even do that?

\-- Eat ‘em. – Hachimenroppi explained with a calm face, either being dead serious or pulling a prank. It would be great if it was the second option. – You should try it, it’s fun. 

Seeing no reaction from Tsukishima, he just rolled over to free some space on the bed. He couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, staring at the ceiling and listening to Tsukishima’s calm breathing – he was most probably seeing his seventh dream by now.  
Eventually, Hachimenroppi found himself staring directly at his soulmate’s face out of pure boredom. Was he planning something? There’s no way he could be this stupid: to see a man kill someone, and just take him in to sleep over. Or could he? It was hard to read him (maybe because the two of them barely ever talked, but that hasn’t occurred to Hachimenroppi just yet). There was still a lot of to uncover.

But that would be a completely different story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading everything to the very end!
> 
> i am just saying. just between us. i was SO CLOSE to deleting the entire thing and abandoning the idea. but i never did. but you can sort of see me getting lazier with it towards the end. this is why the ending chapter is microscopically small. i literally just removed an enourmous chunk of plot. that's why.
> 
> there's quite a lot to this story's lore, i hope i will be able to come back to write about that as well. if you have any specific questions you can hit me with the comments (oh i love comments)! anyways. yeah. that's it on my quarantine coping fanfic. see you all around!
> 
> \- mika


End file.
